1. Previously, I described the signs of the Sadguru in detail. Now, listen attentively to the identification of a good disciple.
2. Without the Sadguru, a good disciple definitely goes wasted, and without a good disciple, the Sadguru only becomes fatigued.
3. For example, the best quality land may be found, but the seeds sown there are rotten, or the seeds of the best quality may be found but they only come in contact with rocky soil.
4. Similarly, there may be a good eligible disciple, but if the guru only teaches some mantra or trivial techniques as a practice, he gets no benefit either in worldly life or in spiritual life.
5. Or, there may be a guru who gives the best complete instruction, but the disciple is not qualified. He is like one who is a beggar even though he is the son of a man with a great fortune.
6. Like this, having one without the other is useless, and it does not allow for the fulfillment of spiritual life.
7. However, when the Sadguru and a good disciple come together, no strenuous efforts are required. The intentions of both are achieved at the same time.
8. Just as the best seeds will not grow in fertile land without rain, similarly, there will not be spiritual growth without having a base of good explanations on one's "Self Nature."
9. The field is sown and the crops grow, but without proper care all goes to waste. The same thing happens with the disciple without correct spiritual practice (sadhana).
10. Until the crop is ready to be harvested, proper care needs to be given to it, and then, when the crop is ready, that is not a time to be inactive.
11. Similarly, upon gaining Self-Knowledge some practice must still be done. It is like the example of how even though we have eaten an ample meal, there is still a need to make sure that groceries are acquired.
12. Therefore, spiritual practice, study, the Sadguru, a good disciple, deep thinking about spiritual teachings, appropriate action, and virtuous desires, all together make it possible for one to cross beyond worldly life.
13. These should be accompanied by correct worship, virtuous actions and conduct, commitment to one's True Nature, keeping in association with saintly people, and keeping some regular routines.
14. When all of these come together, only then does pure Self-Knowledge become clear. Otherwise, heretical opinions spread vigorously among the people.
15. What was just said are not just words for the disciple. All of this rests on the Sadguru, for it is he who transforms the undesirable qualities of the disciple with many efforts.
16. Because of the Sadguru, a bad disciple may be transformed, but a good disciple does not transform a bad guru because the reputation of that guru would become diminished.
17. Therefore, the Sadguru is required. Only he points out the correct path. Without him, the disciple comes under the influence of many incorrect teachings and heretical opinions.
18. These things are the responsibility of the Sadguru and not the responsibility of anyone else (the disciples). In spite of this, I shall tell the signs of how to recognize a good disciple
19. The main sign of a good disciple is that he has complete faith in the teachings of the Sadguru. If he surrenders himself totally in the feeling of oneness, he is a good disciple.
20. The disciple should be pure, acting with appropriate behavior, and he should be detached, lifting his attention from objectivity.
21. The disciple should be loyal, clean in appearance, and well disciplined.
22. The disciple should be hard working and extremely alert, and he should be able to perceive "That" which is cannot be conceived.
23. The disciple should be very patient, very generous, and very committed and sincere regarding spiritual life.
24. The disciple should be obliging, should not be envious, and should be deeply involved in understanding the inner meaning of spiritual teachings.
25. The disciple should be very pure and extremely alert. The disciple must be overflowing with virtues.
26. The disciple should have good intuitive capacity, he should be a loving devotee, and should be disciplined in moral behavior.
27. The disciple should be resourceful, intelligent and should have the capacity to discern what is right from wrong
28. The disciple should be courageous, firm in his convictions, and should have a good upbringing.
29. The disciple should be spiritually inclined (sattvic), he should be one who worships, and he should be an aspirant doing spiritual practice.
30. The disciple should be trustworthy, should be one who has experienced physical suffering, and he should be one who knows how to enhance the spiritual life.
31. The disciple should be independent, he should be a friend to the world, and should be endowed with all good qualities.
32. The disciple should have True Knowledge, he should be endowed with good feelings, and should be supremely pure in the mind.
33. The disciple should not be without discrimination, the disciple should not be born into excessive physical comforts, and should have experienced the sorrows of the worldly life and the physical bodily.
34. Only the one who is experienced the grief of the worldly life and who has been burned by all of three tortures (bodily, worldly, cosmic tortures) is really ready to enter into the spiritual life.
35. One who has suffered much sorrow understands the significance of spiritual life. It is only when one has experienced the suffering of worldly life that dispassion arises within.
36. One who has suffered from worldly life gets faith in the spiritual life, and with the strength of that faith holds to the teachings of the Sadguru.
37. Those who give up their faith and let go of the Sadguru's teaching get drowned in the ocean of worldly torture and are swallowed up by the creatures of pleasure and pain that are in that water.
38. Understand that the one who has firm faith is a good disciple and a leader among those who are deserving of liberation
39. One who derives inner peace from the teachings of the Sadguru is entitled to liberation, and is never affected by the entanglements of worldly life.
40. One who thinks that God is greater than the Sadguru is misguided and loses his glory and prosperity by thinking that the power of God is superior.
41. The "True Form" (Swaroopa) of the Sadguru is such that it has no end, while the gods will have their end at the time of the dissolution of the universe. How can even gods such as Vishnu and Shiva remain then?
42. Like this, the power of the Sadguru is more than that of Brahma and all of the other gods who will eventually cease to exist. However, humans beings of small intellect are like beggars to these gods, and cannot understand what is being said.
43. One who considers that the gods are equal to the Guru is a disciple with wrong understanding. Such a disciple harbors delusion in his mind and does not understand the established truth.
44. God is imagined by man, and with the use of mantra, one can attain godhood. However, it cannot happen that the Sadguru can be imagined, even by God.
45. The Sadguru in his fullness is millions of times greater than the gods. Even the Vedas and ancient scriptures failed when trying to describe him.
46. It should be understood that nothing is superior to the status of the Sadguru. The power of the gods is great, but even their power has its origin in Illusion.
47. The one who has understood the teachings of the Sadguru has power that cannot be equalled by anyone. With the power of that Self-Knowledge, such a one considers worldly wealth to be as significant as a blade of grass.
48. With the strength of the understanding given by the Sadguru arises the experience of Self-Knowledge in which the entire universe and Illusion is not seen.
49. Like this is the wealth of a good disciple. The one who is absolutely devoted to the teachings of the Sadguru becomes God himself.
50. When one turns within, away from the objective world, that fire within purifies the mind which becomes pacified by the teachings of the Sadguru. One such as this is a good disciple.
51. When one is on the path of the Sadguru’s teachings, even if the whole universe were to come down around him, his pure devotion does not get diminished.
52. These who have surrendered to the Sadguru are good disciples and have been selected. Their activities are purified and they are transformed into God.
53. Those who have pure devotional feelings inside are deserving of liberation. Others only put on an outward show of appearances and are considered bad disciples.
54. They feel happy with sensual pleasures and want to acquire fame through spirituality. They are learned fools who make a show of surrendering.
55. Their obsession with sensual pleasures becomes uncontrollable, and they hold firmly to worldly life. Giving thought to discussions about spiritual endeavor is of no concern to them.
56. Once one turns away from the spiritual life, one holds on to the lust for the worldly life, and becomes like a servant carrying the burden of family.
57. One such as this considers only the family life to be happiness, and makes jokes about spiritual life. He is a confused unintelligent fool who is immersed in sensuous desires.
58. One who is engrossed in sensual pleasures and is given the teaching about discrimination (viveka) and the Knowledge of Brahman is like a pig that is worshipped with perfume, or a buffalo that is smeared with sandalwood paste.
59. A donkey rolls around in a garbage heap, so what enjoyment can he have from a nice smelling fragrance, and the owl flies in the dark, so how can he enjoy flying with swans in the daylight?
60. Similarly, how can one who is but a beggar at the door of sensual pleasures, which is to jump on a downward path, develop a liking for God and the company of pious people?
61. Just like a dog that is obsessed will continue chewing on its bone, similarly, the passionate person is always restless for sensual pleasures.
62. How can the dog who is so obsessed take good food into its mouth, or how can a throne be given to a monkey? Similarly, how can one attached to sensual pleasures digest Knowledge?
63. Just as one whose life has been spent tending to donkeys is not asked to sit among scholars, similarly, one who is has a weakness for sensual pleasures does not attain the Supreme.
64. He is like a raven who arrives in the gathering of royal swans looking for a lump of feces, wanting to call himself a swan.
65. Similarly, are those who are in the company of saintly people and who call themselves saintly while their thoughts are focused on feces.
66. Like the man who is going around with his wife in his arms asking to be called a renunciate (sanyasi), are those who are addicted to sensual pleasures while going around babbling on about Knowledge (Jnana).
67. But let this be as it is. How can such learned fools ever understand the true happiness of non-duality? They are in the hell of their own desires and they suffer in that hell.
68. How can one who seeks the services of a prostitute be called a minister, and likewise, how can one who is a slave to sensual pleasures be considered a true devotee of God?
69. For those who are pitifully attached to sense objects, from where will the True Knowledge come to them? They are always talkative and wordy in order to put on a show.
70. Such disciples are very lost and destructive. They don't use proper discrimination and are harmful scheming pretenders who are not really good people.
71. Like this are those troubling people in whom many faults have become strong over a long period of time. However, liberation is possible for them with the recognition of their error, and a turning away from the addiction to sensual pleasures.
72. They should once again surrender to the Sadguru, which pleases him. By following his teachings they become stainless once again
73. One who loses faith in the Sadguru falls into hell as long as the sun and moon are in existence, for there is no way out other than by following the teachings of the Guru.
74. If some detachment arises in one after seeing someone die and he feels humbled and bows down to a guru, this will not result in the establishment of Self-Knowledge.
75. Because of feelings like this, one may go to a guru and take initiation and receive mantra, but their commitment is only for a few days and only goes as deep as temporarily taking up the mantra.
76. In this way, one may go to many gurus and learn some spiritual words only to go on to become one who arrogantly and rudely prattles on.
77. In one moment he may fall down crying, in another moment he feels risen to detachment, and in the next moment he takes pride in Knowledge.
78. In one moment he holds on to faith, and in the next moment roars on arrogantly about himself. Like this, he carries on like a mad person.
79. Lust, anger, arrogance, jealousy, greed, and temptations of many kinds along with pride, treachery, and hatred dwell in his heart.
80. He is filled with ego and attachment to bodily comforts. He is misbehaved and addicted to sensual gratification and worldly pleasures, and is agitated within by his family life.
81. He is a procrastinator and an ungrateful person who indulges in harmful acts and ways of thinking. He is of a doubting nature and has no devotional feelings. He is short tempered, hard hearted, and betrays others.
82. He is heartless and lazy, thoughtless and unreliable, impatient with wrong ways of thinking, and firmly holds doubts in his mind.
83. He is full of hopes and attachment, thirst, imagination, harmful intellect and attitude, shallow thinking, and desire for sensual pleasures always dwells in his mind.
84. He is overly ambitious, envious, scornful, and always eager to criticize others. He is proud of his body and shows off with his knowledge.
85. He cannot control his hunger and thirst, and cannot control his sleep. His worries about his family never subside and he is easily confused.
86. He speaks too much and does not have a bit of detachment or courage to turn away from his addiction to sensual pleasures. He does not follow the path of spiritual practice.
87. He has no devotion, no renunciation, and no peace. He is not good natured or humble, and does not show any generosity, kindness, or compassion. He is not content nor does he have any good intelligence.
88. He avoids the suffering of the body and physical labor. He is very miserly when it comes to charity, and he does not change his hard hearted behavior.
89. He is not friendly with the people, and is not liked by gentlemen. All of his life he thinks day and night about the shortcomings of others.
90. He always tells lies and false stories. When looking into his thoughts and actions, he is not true to his words.
91. Eager to harass others, and like a scorpion with its poison, his tongue is sharp with hurting words that pierce the hearts of others.
92. He is quick to cover up his own bad qualities, speaks harshly to elders, and without examining whether something is true or not, he points out faults.
93. He is full of wrongful thinking within and does not have compassion for others. Like a violent person who is ill behaved, he does not having any feelings when others are hurting or are in pain.
94. He cannot understand the sorrows of others, and like someone who is torturing someone who is already being tortured, he takes pleasure in seeing them suffer.
95. He suffers from his own sorrows, but laughs at other’s sorrow. He is surely in hell and is tortured by the thought of death.
96. Let all of this be as it is. How can those poor people who are blind with arrogance meet God? They don’t like virtuous thinking due to their prior wrongful deeds.
97. At the demise of the body, their physical sense organs will become weak and non-functional, and they will realize that those who are close to them will leave them at that time.
98. Let it be enough with this description. Those who do not have these qualities are different and are considered good disciples. They are firm in their conviction and enjoy the glory of "Self-Bliss."
99. Those in whose minds doubts arise, and in whom the pride of the family tradition overshadows them, become depressed in family life.
100. Because of the things that have made them feel unhappy, they hold on to those feelings firmly in the mind, and as a result repeatedly feel miserable.
101. To get happiness in family life has neither been seen nor heard of. Even while knowing this, one goes against their own good, and becomes unhappy of their own accord.
102. These who believe that happiness is found in family life are dull-minded. Such learned fools knowingly close their eyes to the facts.
103. One should lead a comfortable family life, but should also enhance the spiritual life. It is not proper that one should ever neglect the spiritual life.
104. Previously, I gave the explanation on how to recognize a good Guru and a good disciple. Now I will describe the attributes of a good teaching.